Marine Biology Commons^™

Florida Keys Population Abundance Estimates For Nine Coral Species Proposed For Listing Under The U.S. Endangered Species Act, Steven Miller, William F. Precht, Leanne M. Rutten, Mark Chiappone

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

This report presents abundance and size-class distribution estimates for nine coral species in the Florida Keys and Dry Tortugas, all of which are proposed for listing or reclassification under the U.S. Endangered Species Act (ESA). The lack of population data for these species was highlighted as a deficiency in the ESA Review Process by the Biological Review Team (BRT) in their Status Review (Brainard et al. 2011) and also by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) (Federal Register 2012). Field sampling protocols were adapted from Aronson et al. (1994) and the Atlantic and Gulf Rapid Reef Assessment program (Kramer …

Coral Population Trajectories, Increased Disturbance And Management Intervention: A Sensitivity Analysis, Bernhard Riegl, M. L. Berumen, Andrew Bruckner

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Coral reefs distant from human population were sampled in the Red Sea and one-third showed degradation by predator outbreaks (crown-of-thorns-starfish = COTS observed in all regions in all years) or bleaching (1998, 2010). Models were built to assess future trajectories. They assumed variable coral types (slow/fast growing), disturbance frequencies (5,10,20 years), mortality (equal or not), and connectivity (un/connected to un/disturbed community). Known disturbances were used to parameterize models. Present and future disturbances were estimated from remote-sensing chlorophyll and temperature data. Simulations and sensitivity analysis suggest community resilience at >20-year disturbance frequency, but degradation at higher frequency. Trajectories move from fast-grower …

Changes In A Tropical Seagrass Environment After Installation Of Small Artificial Reefs, Joseph M. Penta

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The 3-dimensional structural complexity of coral reef environments is positively correlated with measurements of biodiversity and biomass. EcoReefs are a type of artificial reef that resemble branching corals, such as Acropora cervicornis, which provide an environment of high structural diversity, and that are effective at recruiting and sustaining fish populations. Little is known, however, about the effects of EcoReefs on the surrounding environments in which they are deployed, so this study examined the results after installing Ecoreef modules in a seagrass environment. The installation occurred in March 2009 at Coco Cay in the Berry Island chain in the Bahamas …

A Review Of Predator-Prey Interactions Within Marine Ecosystems With A Focus On Top Predator Influences On Ecosystem Stability And Fisheries Management Implications, Kathleen Cook Hollowell

HCNSO Student Capstones

The objective of this paper is to review the effects top predators have on and within marine ecosystems, although the full impact that they have isn’t well understood. This paper will define and explain different types of direct and indirect interactions of predators on prey, the types of models or observing techniques currently used to study these interactions, the reasons for top predator loss and the impact top predator loss could have on marine ecosystems.

Supplemental Feeding For Ecotourism Reverses Diel Activity And Alters Movement Patterns And Spatial Distribution Of The Southern Stingray, Dasyatis Americana, Mark John Corcoran, Bradley M. Wetherbee, Mahmood S. Shivji, Matthew Potenski, Demian D. Chapman, Guy Harvey

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Southern stingrays, Dasyatis americana, have been provided supplemental food in ecotourism operations at Stingray City Sandbar (SCS), Grand Cayman since 1986, with this site becoming one of the world’s most famous and heavily visited marine wildlife interaction venues. Given expansion of marine wildlife interactive tourism worldwide, there are questions about the effects of such activities on the focal species and their ecosystems. We used a combination of acoustic telemetry and tag-recapture efforts to test the hypothesis that human-sourced supplemental feeding has altered stingray activity patterns and habitat use at SCS relative to wild animals at control sites. Secondarily, we …

Synthesizing Larval Competence Dynamics And Reef-Scale Retention Reveals A High Potential For Self-Recruitment In Corals, Joana Figueiredo, Andrew H. Baird, Sean R. Connolly

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Many organisms have a complex life-cycle in which dispersal occurs at the propagule stage. For marine environments, there is growing evidence that high levels of recruitment back to the natal population (self-recruitment) are common in many marine organisms. For fish, swimming behavior is frequently invoked as a key mechanism allowing high self-recruitment. For organisms with weak-swimming larvae, such as many marine invertebrates, the mechanisms behind self-recruitment are less clear. Here, we assessed whether the combination of passive retention of larvae due to re-circulation processes near reefs, and the dynamics of settlement competence, can produce the high levels of self-recruitment previously …

Characterization Of The Heart Transcriptome Of The White Shark (Carcharodon Carcharias), Vincent P. Richards, Haruo Suzuki, Michael J. Stanhope, Mahmood S. Shivji

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background: The white shark (Carcharodon carcharias) is a globally distributed, apex predator possessing physical, physiological, and behavioral traits that have garnered it significant public attention. In addition to interest in the genetic basis of its form and function, as a representative of the oldest extant jawed vertebrate lineage, white sharks are also of conservation concern due to their small population size and threat from overfishing. Despite this, surprisingly little is known about the biology of white sharks, and genomic resources are unavailable. To address this deficit, we combined Roche-454 and Illumina sequencing technologies to characterize the first …

Fall 2013, Nova Southeastern University

Currents

No abstract provided.

A New List Of Cuban Crinoids (Echinodermata: Crinoidea), Ruber Rodriguez-Barreras, Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

This review is based on the most recent taxonomic classification of extant Cuban Crinoidea. Existing material in natural history collections in Cuba was analyzed in detail and accurately reflects species presence. The crinoid literature was also reviewed. Several previously unpublished observations of species found in waters off Cuba have also been included. This paper provides the most up to date description of the Cuban crinoid fauna. Habitat, distribution, depth range and localities in Cuba are reported for each species. Collection codes for available specimens are included when known. The work describes a total of 33 species (plus two subspecies) in …

Habitat Characterization, Distribution, And Areal Extent Of Deep-Sea Coral Ecosystems Off Florida, Southeastern U.S.A., John K. Reed, Charles G. Messing, Brian K. Walker, Sandra Brooke, Thiago B.S. Correa, Myra Brouwer, Tina Udouj, Stephanie Farrington

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The deep-sea (200-1000 m) seafloor off the southeastern U.S. has a variety of extensive deep-sea coral ecosystem (DSCE) habitats including: deep-water coral mounds; various hard-bottom habitats off Florida including the Miami Terrace, Pourtales Terrace, and deep-water canyons (Agassiz and Tortugas Valleys); and deep island slopes off western Bahamas and northern Cuba. The dominant structure-forming scleractinian corals are Lophelia pertusa and Enallopsammia profunda; other structure-forming taxa include stylasterid corals, gorgonians, black corals, and sponges. This biota is associated with hard-bottom seafloor of variable high-relief topography which can be remotely identified from bathymetric data. NOAA bathymetric contour maps and digital elevation …

The Yellow Stingray, Urobatis Jamaicensis (Chondrichthyes Urotrygonidae): A Synoptic Review, Richard E. Spieler, Daniel P. Fahy, Robin L. Sherman, James Sulikowski, T. Patrick Quinn

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The yellow stingray, Urobatis jamaicensis (Cuvier) has been the subject of a multitude of diverse studies on its natural history, morphology, and physiology. We have attempted here to briefly review all the studies on U. jamaicensis both published and unpublished with the goal of providing comparative information for researchers working on related species as well as to highlight areas of research requiring further investigation in this one.

Reconstruction Of Family-Level Phylogenetic Relationships Within Demospongiae (Porifera) Using Nuclear Encoded Housekeeping Genes, Malcolm S. Hill, April L. Hill, Jose V. Lopez, Kevin J. Peterson, Shirley Pomponi, Maria C. Diaz, Robert W. Thacker, Maja Adamska, Nicole Boury-Esnault, Paco Cárdenas, Andia Chaves-Fonnegra, Elizabeth Danka, Bre-Onna De Laine, Dawn Formica, Eduardo Hajdu, Gisele Lobo-Hajdu, Sarah Klontz, Christine C. Morrow, Jignasa Patel, Bernard Picton, Davide Pisani, Deborah Pohlmann, Niamh E. Redmond, John Reed, Stacy Richey, Ana Riesgo, Ewelina Rubin, Zach Russell, Klaus Rützler, Erik A. Sperling, Michael Di Stefano, James E. Tarver, Allen G. Collins

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Background: Demosponges are challenging for phylogenetic systematics because of their plastic and relatively simple morphologies and many deep divergences between major clades. To improve understanding of the phylogenetic relationships within Demospongiae, we sequenced and analyzed seven nuclear housekeeping genes involved in a variety of cellular functions from a diverse group of sponges.

Methodology/Principal Findings: We generated data from each of the four sponge classes (i.e., Calcarea, Demospongiae, Hexactinellida, and Homoscleromorpha), but focused on family-level relationships within demosponges. With data for 21 newly sampled families, our Maximum Likelihood and Bayesian-based approaches recovered previously phylogenetically defined taxa: Keratosa^p, …

Evaluating Acropora Cervicornis Growth And Survivorship In A Line Nursery, Zachary Ostroff

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Acropora cervicornis and A. palmata were once dominant, reef-building corals of Caribbean reefs. Over the last several decades, population declines of Caribbean Acropora have been dramatic, and both species are now listed as “Threatened” under the United States Endangered Species Act. Numerous restoration efforts now utilize coral gardening techniques to cultivate these species for transplantation, in which A. cervicornis is primarily cultivated both on fixed structures and in line nurseries. This study evaluates growth and survivorship of multiple A. cervicornis genotypes grown via two line nursery techniques, and compares the efficacy of each against the conventional method of fixed nursery …

Depth-Variable Settlement Patterns And Predation Influence On Newly Settled Reef Fishes (Haemulon Spp., Haemulidae), Lance K. B. Jordan, Kenyon C. Lindeman, Richard E. Spieler

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

During early demersal ontogeny, many marine fishes display complex habitat-use patterns. Grunts of the speciose genus Haemulon are among the most abundant fishes on western North Atlantic coral reefs, with most species settling to shallow habitats (≤12 m). To gain understanding into cross-shelf distributional patterns exhibited by newly settled stages of grunts (<2 cm total length), we examined: 1) depth-specific distributions of congeners at settlement among sites at 8 m, 12 m, and 21 m, and 2) depth-variable predation pressure on newly settled individuals (species pooled). Of the six species identified from collections of newly settled specimens (n = 2125), Haemulon aurolineatum (tomtate), H. flavolineatum(French grunt), and H. striatum (striped grunt) comprised 98% of the total abundance; with the first two species present at all sites. Prevalence of H. aurolineatum and H. flavolineatumdecreased substantially from the 8-m site to the two deeper sites. In contrast, …

Density And Diversity Of Penaeid Shrimp And Fish Species In Near-Shore Seagrass Beds Of Northern Biscayne Bay, Florida (Usa), Robin Cascioli

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

Seagrass beds serve critical functions in coastal Florida ecosystems. The beds serve as nursery habitat for many juvenile reef fish species and provide protection for many types of benthic organisms found in Biscayne Bay. They help stabilize sediment that would otherwise increase turbidity around coral reefs, filter the water of contaminants, and help support an entire food web. Three species of seagrass were found at the study sites in northern Biscayne Bay: Thalassia testudinum, Halodule wrightii, and Syringodium filiforme. This study focused on understanding the organism habitat interaction by determining the species diversity, seasonal densities, and the …

Global Trophic Position Comparison Of Two Dominant Mesopelagic Fish Families (Myctophidae, Stomiidae) Using Amino Acid Nitrogen Isotopic Analyses, C. Anela Choy, Peter C. Davison, Jeffrey C. Drazen, Adrian Flynn, Elizabeth J. Gier, Joel C. Hoffman, Jennifer P. Mcclain-Counts, Todd W. Miller, Brian N. Popp, Steve W. Ross, Tracey Sutton

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The δ15N values of organisms are commonly used across diverse ecosystems to estimate trophic position and infer trophic connectivity. We undertook a novel cross-basin comparison of trophic position in two ecologically well-characterized and different groups of dominant mid-water fish consumers using amino acid nitrogen isotope compositions. We found that trophic positions estimated from the δ15N values of individual amino acids are nearly uniform within both families of these fishes across five global regions despite great variability in bulk tissue δ15N values. Regional differences in the δ15N values of phenylalanine confirmed that bulk tissue δ15N values reflect region-specific water mass biogeochemistry …

Microbial Effects On The Production And Transformation Of Surfactants Within The Microlayer And Subsurface Waters In Application To Remote Sensing Techniques, Katie E. Vella

HCNSO Student Theses and Dissertations

The sea surface microlayer is a millimeter-scale interfacial layer between the atmosphere and the ocean. A number of studies have suggested that there is a unique ecosystem for marine bacteria in the sea surface microlayer, but little information exists on the microbial community composition of this ecosystem due to sampling complexities. In this work, we present an improved method to sample and compare the bacterial diversity of the sea surface microlayer with that of subsurface water at the same site. Bacterial samples were collected from the sea surface microlayer with a sampling method, which minimized sample contamination from the research …

Air-Sea Interface In Hurricane Conditions, Alexander Soloviev, A. Fujimura, Silvia Matt

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Improving hurricane prediction models requires better understanding of complex processes taking place at the air-sea interface at high wind speeds. The change of the air-sea interaction regime in hurricane conditions has been linked to the mechanism of direct disruption of the air-sea interface by pressure fluctuations working against the surface tension force. This can be achieved through the Kelvin-Helmholtz type instability. In order to investigate this mechanism, we have conducted a series of 3D numerical experiments using a volume of fluid multiphase model. The experiments were initialized with either a flat interface or short wavelets and wind stress applied at …

Light And Vision In The Deep-Sea Benthos: Ii. Vision In Deep-Sea Crustaceans, Tamara M. Frank, Sönke Johnsen, Thomas W. Cronin

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Using new collecting techniques with the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible, eight species of deep-sea benthic crustaceans were collected with intact visual systems. Their spectral sensitivities and temporal resolutions were determined shipboard using electroretinography. Useable spectral sensitivity data were obtained from seven species, and in the dark-adapted eyes, the spectral sensitivity peaks were in the blue region of the visible spectrum, ranging from 470 to 497 nm. Under blue chromatic adaptation, a secondary sensitivity peak in the UV portion of the spectrum appeared for two species of anomuran crabs:Eumunida picta (λ_max 363 nm) and Gastroptychus spinifer (λ_max 383 nm). Wavelength-specific …

Light And Vision In The Deep-Sea Benthos: I. Bioluminescence At 500-1000 M Depth In The Bahamian Islands, Sönke Johnsen, Tamara M. Frank, Steven H.D. Haddock, Edith A. Widder, Charles G. Messing

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Bioluminescence is common and well studied in mesopelagic species. However, the extent of bioluminescence in benthic sites of similar depths is far less studied, although the relatively large eyes of benthic fish, crustaceans and cephalopods at bathyal depths suggest the presence of significant biogenic light. Using the Johnson-Sea-Link submersible, we collected numerous species of cnidarians, echinoderms, crustaceans, cephalopods and sponges, as well as one annelid from three sites in the northern Bahamas (500–1000 m depth). Using mechanical and chemical stimulation, we tested the collected species for light emission, and photographed and measured the spectra of the emitted light. In addition, …

Development And Characterization Of 11 Novel Microsatellite Loci For The Roundscale Spearfish Tetrapturus Georgii And Their Cross-Species Amplification Among Other Istiophorid Species, Andrea M. Bernard, Kevin A. Feldheim, Mahmood S. Shivji

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Eleven novel polymorphic microsatellite loci were developed and characterized for the recently validated roundscale spearfish Tetrapturus georgii. Characterization of these markers, based on 35 roundscale spearfish from the western North Atlantic, revealed two to 21 alleles per locus with an average expected heterozygosity (HE) of 0·09–0·94, and all loci conformed to Hardy–Weinberg expectations. Cross-amplification of these 11 loci against all other eight known istiophorid species indicates promising prospects for the utility of these markers for istiophorids in general.

Small-Scale Mapping Of Indeterminate Arborescent Acroporid Coral (Acropora Cervicornis) Patches, Brian K. Walker, E. A. Larson, Alison L. Moulding, David S. Gilliam

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

Western Atlantic populations of the staghorn coral Acropora cervicornis have drastically declined over the past few decades. Hence, interest in its ecology and spatial extent has increased. Acroporid corals with indeterminate arborescent growth like A.cervicornis primarily reproduce asexually by fragmentation, which can lead to extensive monotypic patches. Since fragmentation is a major component in indeterminate acroporid reproduction, these patches may expand or move over time. Periodic perimeter mapping facilitates comparison of patch areas to determine movement or expansion. A repeatable, low-cost method using a differential GPS carried by a snorkeler was employed to map the perimeter of A.cervicornis …

The Bathypelagic Biome Of The Atlantic Ocean: Character And Ecological Discreteness Of The Fish Fauna, Tracey Sutton, Odd Aksel Bergstad, Ann Bucklin, Scott E. Burghart, April B. Cook, Tone Falkenhaug, T. L. Hopkins, F. M. Porteiro, Sigrid Schiel, Joseph J. Torres, M. Vecchione, Peter Wiebe

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Proceedings, Presentations, Speeches, Lectures

Recent global synthetic analyses have revealed that marine taxonomic inventories are far from complete, nowhere more so than in the deep-pelagic ocean. At over a billion km3, it is the largest biome on Earth, yet only a tiny fraction of the biogeographic records include the bathypelagic fauna. This data gap served as the impetus for recent deepwater surveys, many of which have altered our perceptions of pelagic ecosystems. Here we examine data from four deep-pelagic (0-5000+ m) sampling programs in the Atlantic (60°N-25°S) in order to assess the character of bathypelagic fish communities with respect to faunal distinctiveness and ecological …

Characterization Of Benthic Communities, Gregory A. Piniak, Shay Viehman, Christine M. Addison, Nicole D. Fogarty

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

The Consumption Of Dha During Embryogenesis As An Indicative Of The Need To Supply Dha During Early Larval Development: A Review, Joana Figueiredo, Junda Lin, Justin Anto, Luis Narciso

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The establishment of an adequate larval diet for crustacean and fish often involves a series of time-consuming and expensive trial and errors. Despite being nutritionally poor, rotifers and Artemia are the most commonly used preys in larviculture. Whether (and to what extent) the prey needs to be enriched with essential fatty acids differs from species to species. We hypothesized that the DHA content of a newly spawned eggs and its consumption through embryogenesis can be a good indicator of the need to enrich the prey with DHA. In order to assess this hypothesis, we performed a search in the scientific …

Circle Hooks In Commercial, Recreational, And Artisanal Fisheries: Research Status And Needs For Improved Conservation And Management, Joseph E. Serafy, Steven J. Cooke, Guillermo A. Diaz, John E. Graves, Martin Hall, Mahmood S. Shivji, Yonat Swimmer

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The intent of convening the International Symposium on Circle Hooks in Research, Management, and Conservation was to yield a contemporary, science-based assessment of the management and conservation utility of circle hooks in commercial, recreational, and artisanal fisheries around the globe. The symposium objective was to provide a forum for individuals, organizations, and agencies to share relevant research results and perspectives. Based on the presentations, an examination of the literature, and the collective experience and knowledge of the authors, we provide a brief overview of the current status of circle hook research along with a list of research needs, with a …

Catch Rates With Variable Strength Circle Hooks In The Hawaii-Based Tuna Longline Fishery, Keith A. Bigelow, David W. Kerstetter, Matthew G. Dancho, Jamie A. Marchetti

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Articles

The Hawaii-based deep-set longline fleet targets bigeye tuna [Thunnus obesus (Lowe, 1839)] and infrequently takes false killer whales [FKW , Pseudorca crassidens (Owen, 1846)] as bycatch. From 2004 to 2008 with 20%–26% observer coverage, nine mortalities of and serious injuries to FKW were documented in the deep-set fishery in the Hawaii EE Z, yielding a mean take estimate of 7.3 animals yr⁻¹. Weak hook technology can utilize the size disparity between target and other species to promote the release of larger non-target species. Four vessels tested the catch efficacy and size selectivity of 15/0 “strong” circle hooks …

Deep-Water Benthic Habitat Characterization And Cable Impact Assessment For The South Florida Ocean Measurement Facility (Sfomf), Charles Messing, Brian K. Walker, John K. Reed

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Assessment Of Natural Resource Condition In And Adjacent To The Dry Tortugas National Park, Christopher F.G. Jeffrey, Sarah D. Hile, Christine M. Addison, Jerald Ault, Carolyn Currin, Don Field, Nicole D. Fogarty, Jiangang Luo, Vanessa Mcdonough, Doug Morrison, Gregory A. Piniak, Varis Ransibrahmanakul, Steve G. Smith, Shay Viehman

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.

Southeast Florida Coral Reef Evaluation And Monitoring Project 2011 Year 9 Final Report, David S. Gilliam

Marine & Environmental Sciences Faculty Reports

No abstract provided.